Owatonna was an enterprising community of 5,000 at the turn of the century when opening a local hospital was first considered. Owatonna City Hospital opened its doors on Jan. 5, 1901, and has continued to provide health care services to the citizens of Steele County in south central Minnesota ever since. A new hospital facility was built in 1932, and two major additions were completed in 1961 and 1969.
Owatonna has 77 licensed hospital beds, 300 employees, 40 active physicians and 500 consulting physician specialists. Each year, Owatonna Hospital has approximately: 1,900 inpatient admissions, 475 births, 30,000 outpatient visits, including 7,500 emergency department visits and 3,100 same-day surgery patients. Owatonna Hosptial is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO).